The clash between Bangor and Newington was always one that carried an air of familiarity about it; after all, they had contested no fewer than FIVE matches in the Premier Intermediate League and the cup competitions in 2021/22. Following the Swans’ promotion that season, the then-second-positioned Seasiders emulated their feat one year later and now, in the third week of September, the clubs jousted for the victory fruits both holding a status as top-half teams in the Playr-Fit Championship.
What had been shaped up as a competitive and potentially nitty-gritty duel did not fall far short of that prospect in reality, and with the table-topping ‘Ton so eager to add further weight to their strong start this term, their determination would have been unquenched in pursuit of three points at Clandeboye Park. The hosts, on a five-star unbeaten run themselves, had other ideas, and aimed to ensure the full spoils remained in north Down.
Bangor maintain a steely edge and see off Newington for three more points
Under the warm sun’s shine, Bangor returned to Clandeboye Park for the first time in two and a half weeks.
Once more, the conditions for football were optimal and, in the burgeoning weeks of autumn, a sixth straight match unbeaten was the target; the task at hand to achieve this feat, though, was not a simple one.
Newington, themselves chasing half a dozen league victories in a row, arrived in north Down with a spring in their step.
The previous week, they had outmuscled Dundela at their new home, Larne’s Inver Park, to maintain a table-topping position in the Playr-Fit Championship.
Ever so desperate to bag their second success at this venue – on the opening day, the Swans conquered Ards to ignite their campaign on the front foot – and with 18 points from the 21 hitherto on offer, Lee Feeney knew his boys would have to be on top of their game should they have held aspirations of stopping The ‘Ton in their tracks.
The Seasiders supremo, whose oversight of a respectable pre-match tally of 11 points saw his side start the day in sixth-place, decided upon a couple of changes for a trialling encounter.
Starting line-up:
The alterations Lee Feeney made to the starting side were not all that unpredictable. With Lewis Harrison banned, it was Jack Henderson to step into midfield alongside Dylan O’Kane, who has now started three of the last four, while Reece Neale’s return to the side coincided with his assumption of the captain’s armband. Image from myself.
One was, obviously, enforced. The most recent of those points picked up came at a cost – club captain Lewis Harrison’s sending-off in the goalless draw at H&W Welders the previous week meant he had to serve a one-match suspension – and, as such, a midfield pair of Jack Henderson and Dylan O’Kane was seen for the very first time.
It was the former who rose from the substitutes’ bench to the start from that Blanchflower Park stalemate, while Reece Neale, himself among the seven in reserve in east Belfast, also returned to the start to captain the team from left wing-back – Larne loanee Ben Walker dropped out in a like-for-like change.
Substitutes’ bench:
There was certainly a blend of youth and experience on the Bangor bench. With two teenagers in goalkeeper Marcus Thompson – making his first senior match-day squad appearance at 17 – and Ben Walker, there was also the presence of the attack-minded trio of Jordan Hughes, Adam Neale and Michael Halliday. Image from myself.
In Paul Hamilton’s Newington selection, meanwhile, big names you would expect to see in the fold were included.
Skipper Richard Gowdy typically led the charge from midfield, while highly-rated 20-year-old prospects Paul Donnelly and Seamus Duffy – both of whom have two goals to date this term – featured in the bid to provide fresh impetus and injection.
There was, however, a void – namely, that of top goalscorer (on five league goals) Zach Barr, who was not included in the match-day 18. That said, Darren Stuart, a marksman who once called Bangor his home and whose four finishes to date, comprising a brace in the Duns triumph seven days earlier, had singled him out as a major prospective headache, was present in the visitors’ starting line-up.
A tasty tussle was on the menu. And that was just what was served up.
Referee Mark Dillon, taking charge of his third Bangor match – indeed, the yellow and blue had six points out of six in his previous two assignments, following wins over Ballinamallard United and Ards – led these two former PIL rivals for their first-ever meeting in the second division.
Let battle commence.
It lived up to the billing – but it also had moments of skill attached that dazzled the watching crowd.
Only 17 minutes were required for the bubbles in the cauldron to boil over.
And it was instinctive finishing from a man who is finding his feet at this level that delivered the hosts their deadlock-breaker.
On the money:
When Ben Cushnie gave his first insight into what he feels he could offer Lee Feeney and Bangor for this campaign, he simply replied “goals and assists”, and he hasn’t sold a lie. He has three finishes and one set-up at an average of one goal involvement every 109 minutes… not too shabby. Image from Gary Carson.
Reece Neale was the initial provider; he curled in a cute left-footed delivery into the danger zone where the towering Ben Arthurs lay in wait to latch on to.
The Kircubbin man, whose six strikes across all competitions have put him on a fruitful path, could not have hoped for a better connection on his header – but he saw it crash agonisingly back off the base of the post. To his credit, though, it had teed up his strike partner to make sure the hard work had not gone to waste.
Ben Cushnie was alert and active, and he cushioned delectably beyond Swans stopper Dean Smyth to send the home fans into raptures.
This was a bit better than the last time these two met – Newington romped to a 5-0 rout of the Seagulls back in April 2022 – as the Glentoran loanee, who turned 22 last month, turned in his third goal of the campaign to open the scoring.
It was no swansong for the visitors, mind you.
Within eight minutes of going behind, Newington were on even terms. A penalty award was to prove Bangor’s immediate undoing – the first concession of a spot-kick Bangor have had all season – with the resulting take powered past shot-stopper James Taylor to send the scoreline back to a level pegging.
It was Eamonn Hughes who seized the initiative; a January arrival from west Belfast outfit Willowbank, he had scored in successive outings having also bagged a goal from 12 yards versus Dundela.
And with the match finely poised, although not what one might call chance-laden, there was over an hour left for someone else to make a major say.
Predatory Arthurs will feel he should have been that man – not only for rattling the upright in the build-up to Cushnie’s opener, but on 38 minutes, when he had thought a second penalty award of the day would go in his favour.
Alas not. There was a ‘Ton challenge inside the area on the 25-year-old, and the striker went down under contact, but amid vehement appeals from the stands, Dillon was unperturbed.
Flashpoints were few and far between, and that theme continued during the second period.
Player spotlight:
The record of Bangor goalkeeper James Taylor stands tall; in seven Championship appearances, he’s maintained clean sheets in four of them and conceded just three goals from open play. Although denied a shut-out from the penalty spot, still he shows his value to help Bangor bag points. Image from Joe McEwan.
There were occasional testers, as O’Kane saw a curling attempt clutched by Smyth – he was between the sticks for Queen’s University that rain-drenched mid-April day that Bangor won the league last term – while, at the other end, Newington sub Fra Rice was superbly denied by Taylor’s outstretched boot.
Both opportunities arose within the final 15 minutes of proceedings at Clandeboye Park.
It felt as if, motivated by the race against the clock, the action suddenly flickered back into life after a lull; like the game was being played in phases.
On 84 minutes, Taylor counted his blessings.
The experienced stopper, who has played in all three divisions of the Irish League within the space of the last 18 months, could only watch with relief as a Newington piledriver bounced back off the crossbar. Inches were the determining factor; it has worked both for and against Feeney’s squad this campaign.
But with merely one minute of regulation to go, the Seasiders took full advantage of such a let-off. And they seized three points in the most dramatic of styles.
In the preview piece, the topic was that a streak would end – either Bangor’s unbeaten run or Newington’s winning succession. Both sat at five; one would be extended and the other would be halted, with no ifs or buts.
It proved to be the former that stayed alive.
Two substitutes combined. Adam Neale was introduced, entering for Cushnie, and his influence was to prove no less profound than the man he stepped on to replace.
Stat attack:
Sunday represented the one-year anniversary and debut of Adam Neale’s first goal for Bangor, a last-gasp equaliser at Ballymacash Rangers that ensured Bangor took a point from that Premier Intermediate League clash. Across the 2,876 minutes he has played ever since, his record is astonishing; 28 goals and seven assists, coming in 38 matches, at a rate of 82.2 minutes per goal involvement. Animalistic numbers.
The Ballynahinch fans’ favourite may not have found the net in six weeks – and that wears on individuals who gobble up goals for breakfast, no less than when he notched up 27 of them in the third-tier – but it has not left him demoralised, given he has also upped his levels across other departments.
On this occasion, he turned provider. An astute outside-of-the-boot supply was weighted to a tee, with Tom Mathieson in position to lay claim.
A week prior, the 23-year-old had been introduced late on as a substitute, only to be hauled off right as Harrison’s red card forced his manager to change ploy. This time, his rise from the bench culminated in a much happier ending; he got a toe on Neale’s service, prodding past Smyth to send a sea of yellow and blue into exultation.
And where pictures so often tell a thousand words, the look on Mathieson’s face said it all. That yellow and blue sea, by the seaside, he was all too keen to dive in head-first.
He was fired up. The emotion was simply pouring out.
Jubilation, pure and simple:
The look on the face of attacking midfielder Tom Mathieson following his late winner against Newington was one that told a thousand words. He was ecstatic to bury his first goal of the season, with Karl Devine all too delighted to join him in revelry. Image from Gary Carson.
Dashing to the stands to take in the adulation of his faithful, with all his team-mates in tow, his first strike of the season was a winning one.
Stat attack:
Following finishes against Strabane Athletic, Portstewart and Tobermore United last season, Tom Mathieson hit the mark with his fourth goal in a Bangor shirt. It was his first in the Championship since he netted for Ballyclare Comrades in a 5-1 defeat at home to Newry City in March 2022.
The late show has been in full effect of late. Indeed, that point stands testament when you consider Bangor native Mathieson’s effort was only fit for third-place on the list of late goals this season – Cushnie and Lewis Francis each burying in added-time against Ballinamallard and Institute respectively.
However they come, though, they leave a mark on the table.
And this strike turned one into three.
Rushing to the crowd’s delight:
After plundering what would be the goal to simultaneously snap Newington’s five-game winning streak in the Playr-Fit Championship and extend Bangor’s unbeaten run in all competitions to six matches, Tom Mathieson wheeled away to take in the embraces of the crowd. Image from Sarah Harkness.
When Dillon signalled for time, Bangor had only improved to fifth-place. But, crucially, they had improved by three more points.
They are precious in this league.
It may not have been pretty. That, however, is where you must show another side; lately, the force has been strong on the seaside, the mentality and resolve on full display and the desire to play to win an integral factor behind a run that sees the Clandeboye club well on course to at least fulfil the basic objective of survival.
A strong start is never to be underestimated. That is now 14 points out of 24 for a club newly promoted to the division this term – and, of course, into the County Antrim Shield quarters.
No one of a yellow and blue affiliation can be disappointed about that.
| Playr-Fit Championship | Matchday Eight | ||
| Annagh United | A | A | Institute |
| Bangor | 2 | 1 | Newington |
| Dergview | 5 | 0 | Knockbreda |
| Dundela | 0 | 1 | Ards |
| Harland and Wolff Welders | 4 | 2 | Ballyclare Comrades |
| Portadown | 2 | 0 | Ballinamallard United |
With huge tests coming up, including knock-out trips to Premiership opposition in Coleraine (October 3) and Larne (October 10) in the BetMcLean Cup and Shield respectively, the good form is no bad thing from that standpoint either.
The priority throughout this week, though, will be to build up to a visit to Dergview who, under the interim charge of one of Castlederg’s greatest sons, Ivan Sproule, have a new bounce and a pounding beat in their hearts.
After conquering Knockbreda 5-0 to lift out of the bottom two, the Tyrone pride will be keen to claim Bangor’s scalp when this Saturday rolls around.
But one thing’s for sure – the Seasiders are bringing the fire.
Reserves narrowly edged by Abbeyview in slender Junior Shield away reversal
Meanwhile, Bangor Reserves were to fall to an agonising defeat in their first foray into cup action for this campaign.
They fell just the wrong side of a five-goal thriller at Antrim Forum, where Abbeyview held their nerve and advanced to the next round.
The Seasiders recovered valiantly from a two-goal deficit at half-time thanks to goals from Jacob Chisholm and the red-hot Charley Craig, but the hosts who went on to find the winner through Glenn Vance’s 75th-minute strike in this tasty Junior Shield First Round encounter.
With David Downes and his squad’s interest in the competition now abated, they turn their attention back to the Championship/PIL Development League, where they host Portadown Reserves in an early-morning Saturday kick-off.
The action begins at Clandeboye Park at 11am on Saturday, September 30, as those in yellow and blue aspire to extend their points tally to a perfect 12 from 12.
Featured image from Gary Carson.
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